John Smoltz

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John Andrew Smoltz is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. He is predominantly known as a starter and former Cy Young Award winner. However, before the 2001 season, his 13th, he became a closer. In 2002 he became only the second pitcher in history to have had both a 20-win season and a 50-save season . He is the only pitcher in Major League history to top both 200 wins and 150 saves. He became the 16th member of the 3,000 strikeout club on April 22, 2008 when he fanned Felipe Lopez of the Washington Nationals in the third inning in Atlanta.

Smoltz throws a four-seam fastball that has been clocked as high as 98 miles per hour, a strong, effective slider, and an 88-91 mph split-finger fastball that he uses as a strikeout pitch. He also mixes in a curveball and change-up on occasion, and in 1999, he began experimenting with both a knuckleball and a three-quarters delivery, though he rarely uses either in game situations today.